The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-05-24
Women ut the Polls.

places IL comparative noVelly III lnlH
section, at least. of New England, and
it can not be said to have produced
favorable impression, writes n Proyi-
dence, Il. l., correspondent of The New
York Sun. Female political evangel-
ism began under the auspices OF the
women's temperance societies. The
work of these associations is in itself
noble one, aud with its motto, ''For
God, and Home, and Native Land. 1t
naturally appeals to the best sentiment
of the better part of the voters. The
women organized with thoroughness
that might well evoke the admiration
of veteran political leaders, and,
through the avenues of church and
school, they managed to reach the
greater number of families worth in
huencing. Some of the rural school
teachers entered into the cause with an
earnestness and decisiveness which
overstepped what seemed to the I'M
prejudiced mind to be the legitimate
bounds of their province, and the wri-
ter remembers the surprise with which
he received the information that his
child had been directed to write an es-
say on Constitutional Prohibition"
The children were also induced TO or
ganize into bands pledged to the cause
of temperance, and, as consequence,
of prohibition, and the hands of the lit
tie ones brought parents into line
The next move was on the polls. 1t
was an insidious appeal to the stomach.
The women asked the privilege of sup
plying coffee and other refreshments
free to the voters on election day. Of
course, it was granted, and the new
departure had an excellent influence.
1t kept the electors away from the
crossroads hotels, and tended to make
elections less noisy and demonstrative.
The native American is native gentle
man, however uncouth his native sur
roundings may be, and the presence OF
wife or mother has a subduing effect
on the more exuberant phases of poll
teal strife. ~ never saw Hezekiah
auieter," was the remark concerning
an old bachelor farmer who usually
made things exceedingly lively on
town.meeting day. And the same was
said of others of like disposition and
habits. But while the farmers chewcd
ham and slipped coffee, and thanked
the women for the home-like lunch,
they little thought what was coming.
The women were satisfied for year
or two with free dining-room and the
lunch business. They kept away from
the precincts of the polls, consecrated
from time immemorial to men. Their
next and evidently premedtated move
was on the polling place itself, as dis
trbutors of tickets IN favor of prohibit
ton. 1t took the voters by surprise,
but it was successful. Children wept
and wives of drunkards pleaded with
them to cast prohibitory ballot, and
women even went so far as to lead
voters up to the ballot-box. The result
is known. Prohibition was adopted,
and has in most respects proved an ex-
pensive failure.
This spring the pressure of the
women was viewed with obvious aver
sion. The women representing the
woman-suffirage cause at the polls were
of excellent families. Indeed, these
movements, both Tor prohibition and
female suffrage, have been engineered
by social leaders in their respective
localities. But, somehow, the hard
headed farmers and mechanics looked
upon the presence of the women as I'M
desirable, and while they did not mani
fest that view by insult or impudence,
they smoked, wore their hats, and act
ed much as they had done every town =
meeting day since New England town
meetings were organized and smoking
ceased to be a violation of puritanical
law. 1t was worthy of note that the
women did not exercise the shrewdness
of the male solicitor of votes. A woman
asks a man, to whom, of course she has
been socially introduced on some pre-
yious occasion, and who is known to
her as u nelghbor, II not a friend. to
vote ticket which she presents. She
makes the request directly and perhaps
earnestly, and as II to comply would be
a personal favor, and the ordinary re-
suit is that she is met with polite